Nucleotide sequences encoding the murine β3-adrenergic receptor and their applications

ABSTRACT

Nucleotide sequences encoding the murine β3-adrenergic receptor are provided. Use of the sequences as probes, in vectors, and for the expression of peptides are discussed. Methods of screening substances for agonist or antagonist action towards β3-adrenergic receptors, and for detecting the affinity of various substances for β3-adrenergic receptors, are described.

This application is a national phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT application PCT/FR92/00023, filed Jan. 14, 1992.

The present invention relates to nucleotide sequences encoding the murine β3-adrenergic receptor (RAβ3), to the use of the said sequences as probes and for the expression of peptides and/or fragments thereof which have a murine RAβ3 activity, to vectors useful for the said expression as well as to host cells containing the said vector.

The present invention also relates to polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies directed against the said peptides and which can be used especially for the detection of murine β3-adrenergic receptors as well as to a process for screening substances with agonist or antagonist action towards peptides having a β3-adrenergic receptor action, and to boxes or kits for the detection of the degree of affinity of various substances for the said peptides with β3-adrenergic receptor activity. Such substances can especially be used as medicinal and products in the treatment of obesity, diabetes mellitus and diabetes of non-insulin-dependent subjects as well as in the treatment of hyperlipidemias.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known that catecholamines such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, synthetic agonists of these catecholamines which mimic their biological functions, and antagonists which block these biological functions, exert their effects by binding to specific recognition sites (membrane receptors) situated on the cell membranes.

Two principal classes of adrenergic receptors have been defined, the α-adrenergic receptors and the β-adrenergic receptors.

In both of these two classes, five subtypes of catecholamine receptors (α1, α2, β1, β2 and β3-RA) can now be distinguished. Their genes were recently isolated and identified (S. COTECCHIA et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 85, 7159-7163; B. K. KOBILKA et al., 1987, Science, 238, 650-656; T. FRIELLE et al., 1987, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 7920-7924; L. J. EMORINE et al., 1987, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 84, 6995-6999; L. J. EMORINE et al., 1989, Science, 245, 1118-1121). Analysis of these genes has made it possible to recognise that they belong to a family of integral membrane receptors exhibiting some homology (R. A. F. DIXON et al., 1998, Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry, 221-223; L. J. Emorine et al., 1988, Proc. NATO Adv. Res. Workshop), especially at the level of 7 transmembrane regions which are coupled to regulatory proteins, called G proteins, capable of binding molecules of guanosine triphosphate (GTP).

These membrane receptors, after they have bound the appropriate ligand (agonist or antagonist), undergo a conformational change which induces an intracellular signal which modifies the behavior of the target cell. In the case of β-adrenergic receptors, when they bind with agonists of catecholamines, they catalyse the activation of a class of G proteins which in turn stimulates the activity of adenylate cyclase whereas the antagonists of RAβ receptors act in competition with the agonists for the binding to the receptor and prevent the activation of adenylate cyclase.

When adenylate cyclase is activated, it catalyses the production of an intracellular mediator or second messenger, especially cyclic AMP.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the present invention is an isolated DNA molecule having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 and encoding the murine β3-adrenergic receptor protein.

A further aspect of the present invention is an isolated DNA molecule having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:3.

A further aspect of the present invention is an isolated DNA molecule having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:4, which sequence includes the coding region of the murine β3-adrenergic receptor protein gene.

A further aspect of the present invention is an isolated DNA molecule of SEQ ID NO:6.

A further aspect of the present invention is an isolated DNA molecule of SEQ ID NO:7.

Another aspect of the present invention is a nucleotide probe having a sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:6 or SEQ ID NO:7.

Another aspect of the present invention is a polypeptide having β-adrenergic receptor activity and having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.

A further aspect of the present invention is an expression vector containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.

Another aspect of the present invention is the vector deposited as I-1026 with the Collection Nationale de Cultures de Microorganisms, Institut Pasteur.

A further aspect of the present invention is a method of assaying a substance for agonist activity towards a polypeptide having SEQ ID NO:2. In this method a transformed host cell expressing the murine β3 adrenergic receptor polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4 is placed in contact with the substance being tested, and cAMP production is measured. A further aspect of the present invention is a process for studying the binding affinity of a compound for a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein a host cell expressing a β3 receptor protein is placed in contact with the test compound and the amount of compound which binds to the β3 receptor protein is measured.

Another aspect of the present invention is a kit for assaying the binding affinity of a compound for the murine β3-adrenergic receptor encoded by SEQ ID-NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4.

A further aspect of the present invention is antibodies directed against a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides the restriction map of the clone MB1 which contains the murine β3-adrenergic receptor gene and comprises 14 Kb.

FIG. 2 provides the unique restriction sites of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 (the murine β3 adrenergic receptor gene).

FIG. 3A compares the encoding regions of the murine (top lines; SEQ ID NO:3) and human (bottom lines; SEQ ID NO:14) β3 adrenergic receptor genes.

FIG. 3B continues the comparison of FIG. 3A, between the encoding regions of the murine (top lines; SEQ ID NO:3) and human (bottom lines; SEQ ID NO:14) β3 adrenergic receptor genes.

FIG. 4 compares the amino acid sequences of the murine (top lines; SEQ ID NO:2) and human (bottom lines; SEQ ID NO:15) β3 adrenergic receptors.

FIG. 5A compares the amino acid sequences of the human β3 (β3-AR; SEQ ID NO:15), β1 (β1-AR; SEQ ID NO:16) and β2 (β2-AR; SEQ ID NO:17) adrenergic receptors with the murine β3 (Mβ3-AR; SEQ ID NO:2) adrenergic receptor.

FIG. 5B is a continuation of the comparison of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 presents the detection, by autoradiography (Southern blotting), of genomic DNA which hybridizes with probes specific for the β3-adrenergic gene. Lanes 1 and 2 contain genomic DNA from mouse livers and lanes 3 contain genomic DNA from human cells. The DNA was probed with radiolabelled probe A19 (SEQ ID NO:1) (zone A), probe A20 (SEQ ID NO:6) (zone B) or probe A21 (SEQ ID NO:7) (zone C).

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of plasmid pSTH-Muβ3.

FIG. 8A shows partial mouse lymphocyte metaphase, and shows the specific site of hybridization of probe A21 (SEQ ID NO:7) to chromosome 8. In the left panel, the arrow indicates the silver-stained spots on the Giemsa-stained chromosomes after autoradiography.

FIG. 8B identifies the stained chromosomes of FIG. 8A by R-banding.

FIG. 9 graphs the binding to saturation of ¹³⁵ I! ICYP to intact CHO-Muβ3 cells.

FIG. 10A graphs the accumulation of cAMP after exposure of CHO-Muβ3 cells to conventional β agonists in the presence of 5 nM (-)-isoproterenol, where solid boxes are (-)-isoproterenol, open boxes are (-)-noradrenalin, closed circles are (-)-adrenalin, and open circles are (+)-isoproterenol. The x-axis represents the log of the ligand concentration (M) and the y-axis represents the percentage cAMP accumulation.

FIG. 10B graphs the accumulation of cAMP after exposure of CHO-Muβ3 cells to atypical β agonists in the presence of 5 nM (-)-isoproterenol, where solid boxes are (-)-isoproterenol, open boxes are BRL 3733, closed circles are oxyprenolol, open circles are CGP 12177A, and closed triangles are pindolol. The x-axis represents the log of the ligand concentration (M) and the y-axis represents the percentage cAMP accumulation.

FIG. 10C demonstrates that micromolar amounts of some β antagonists inhibit the cAMP accumulation seen after exposure of CHO-Muβ3 cells to 5 nM (-)-isoproterenol. The x-axis represents the log of the ligand concentration (M) and the y-axis represents the percentage inhibition of cAMP; closed triangles are (-)-isopropranolol, open circles are ICI 118551, and closed squares are CGP 20712A.

FIG. 11 shows a Norther blot hybridization of the probe A21 (SEQ ID NO:7) with the total RNA of various mouse tissues (white adipose tissue(WAT); brown adipose tissue (BAT); muscle; and lung), and of the adipose cell lines 3T3-F442A (3T3).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Inventors recently identified new β-adrenergic receptors in man, called RA-Huβ3 and characterised by properties different from those of the β1 and β2 receptors especially in that they behave differently towards substances which are respectively antagonists and agonists of the β1 and β2 receptors (French Patent Application No. 89 00918).

Such an RA-Huβ3 receptor more particularly consists of a sequence of 402 amino acids and is considered as also comprising seven hydrophobic transmembrane regions separated by hydrophilic intra- and extra-cellular loops.

Pursuing their work in this direction, the present inventors sought to identify such an RAβ3 in rodents and more particularly in murines in order to be able to have especially a model for studying β-adrenergic ligands.

The subject of the present invention is a nucleic acid sequence, characterised in that it comprises the murine gene which encodes a peptide having a β3-adrenergic receptor activity, that is to say that it is capable of participating in the activation of adenylate cyclase in the presence of at least one of the following agonists: BRL 28410, BRL 37344, CGP 12177A and (1)-isoproterenol.

The agonist CGP 12177A is especially described in the article in the name of N. MOHELL et al. (Biochem. J., 1989, 261, 401-405) and the agonists BRL 28410 and BRL 37344 are described in the article in the name of J. R. S. ARCH et al. (Nature, 1984, 309, 5964, 163-165).

According to an advantageous embodiment of the said sequence, it contains 1920 base pairs and comprises the nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO:1) as well as sequences derived therefrom and fragments of the said sequence and derived sequences.

The said sequence comprises especially the following unique restriction sites:

AlwN I, Sac I, Stu I, Dra I, Mse I, Bbe I, Nar I, Xcm I, NCo I, BspM I, Afl III, Pvu I, Nhe I, BstE II, BspH I, Bsm I, Nsp7524 I, NspH I, Xho I, Sac II, Eag I, Nae I, PaeR7 I, EcoN I, Fsp I, Bbv II, Nru I, Drd I, BamH I.

The subject of the invention is also fragments of the said sequence which are useful for the expression of the corresponding peptide and/or the detection of the murine gene which encodes the murine β3 receptor.

Amongst the said fragments, the sequence comprises inter alia:

a sequence consisting of a segment of 1164 nucleotide (SEQ ID NO:3) which corresponds to nucleotides 568-1731 of (SEQ ID NO:1),

a sequence consisting of a segment of 1360 base pairs (SEQ ID NO:4) containing the coding region of the murine β3 gene and a portion of the untranslated 3' region which corresponds to nucleotides 555-1914 of SEQ ID NO:1,

a sequence consisting of a segment of 281 nucleotide base pairs (SEQ ID NO:5) which corresponds to nucleotides 1640-1920 of (SEQ ID NO:1),

a sequence consisting of a segment of 609 nucleotide base pairs (SEQ ID NO:6) situated between the transmembrane regions TM3 and TM6 and which corresponds to nucleotides 895-1503 of (SEQ ID NO:1),

a sequence consisting of a segment of 298 nucleotide base pairs (SEQ ID NO:7) going from the translational initiation codon up to the end of the TM2 domain and which corresponds to nucleotides 567-864 (region of the gene which encodes the amino-terminal portion of the peptide) of (SEQ ID NO:1).

Nucleic acids which are variants relative to those defined above and which contain certain localised mutations also form part of the invention insofar as these variant nucleic acids hybridize with the nucleic acids defined above and with fragments thereof.

Within the context of the present invention, derived sequence is understood to mean both a single-stranded or double-stranded DNA or RNA sequence and their complementary sequences.

The subject of the present invention is also nucleotide probes, characterised in that they hybridize with the nucleotide sequences as defined above but do not hybridize with the genes which encode the β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors, nor with the messenger RNA of the said β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors, and in that they are optionally labelled by means of a marker such as a radioactive isotope, an appropriate enzyme or any other appropriate non-radioactive substance.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the said probe, its sequence is homologous or complementary to that of a segment of at least 10 bp of (SEQ ID NO:1).

Within the context of the present invention, "homologous sequence" comprises not only sequences identical to (SEQ ID NO:1), or to a fragment thereof, but also those differing from it by only a substitution, deletion or addition of a small number of nucleotides, provided that the sequences thus modified have a hybridization specificity equivalent to that of (SEQ ID NO:1) or the segment considered.

Likewise, "complementary sequence" is understood to mean not only sequences strictly complementary to (SEQ ID NO:1) or to its segments, but also modified sequences, as indicated above, possessing a hybridization specificity equivalent to that of the said strictly complementary sequences.

The hybridization conditions are defined as follows:

For the shortest probes, that is to say of about 10 to about 100 nucleotides, appropriate hybridisation conditions are the following:

750 mM of NaCl, 75 mM of trisodium citrate, 50 μg/ml of salmon sperm DNA, 50 mM of sodium phosphate, 1 mM of sodium pyrophosphate, 100 μM of ATP, 10 to 25% formamide, 1% Ficoll ("PHARMACIA" average molecular weight of 400,000), 1% polyvinylpyrrolidone, 1% bovine serum albumin, for 14 to 16 h at 42° C.

For the longest probes, that is to say having more than about 100 nucleotides, appropriate hybridization conditions are those indicated above for the shortest probes, but in which the above defined medium contains 40% formamide instead of 10 to 25% formamide.

According to an advantageous form of this embodiment, the said probe may be advantageously defined by any of the nucleotide sequences defined above and especially:

the fragment of 1920 base pairs, which corresponds to the entire sequence of (SEQ ID NO:1);

the fragment of about 600 bp, (SEQ ID NO:6) which corresponds to the fragment situated between the transmembrane regions TM3 and TM6 of the sequence of (SEQ ID NO:1) above;

the fragment of about 300 bp, (SEQ ID NO:7) which corresponds to the region of the gene which encodes the amino-terminal portion of the peptide going from the translational initiation codon up to the end of the TM2 domain;

the fragment of about 280 base pairs, (SEQ ID NO:5) which corresponds to segment 1640-1920 of (SEQ ID NO:1).

Such probes have especially the advantage of allowing the characterisation of genetically defined inbred lines of diabetic and/or obese mice, especially db/db, ob/ob, NOD lines.

The subject of the present invention is also a peptide and/or a peptide fragment, characterised in that it is encoded by a nucleotide sequence as defined above and in that it exhibits a β3-adrenergic receptor activity.

A β3-adrenergic receptor activity is that defined in French Patent Application No. 89 00918, namely that when the fragment is exposed at the surface of a cell, it is capable of participating in the activation of adenylate cyclase in the presence of one of the following agonists: BRL 28410, BRL 37344, CGP 12177A and (1)-isoproterenol; either it is capable of being recognised by antibodies which recognise neither the β1-adrenergic receptor nor the β2-adrenergic receptor, or it is capable of generating antibodies which recognise neither the β1 receptor nor the β2 receptor.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the said peptide, it comprises 388 amino acids and has the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:2), which peptide has 82% homology with the human β3 peptide (human β3 receptor).

This peptide is called hereinafter murine β3-adrenergic receptor (RA-Muβ3).

It was not clear whether murines possess a β3-adrenergic receptor and whether the latter is furthermore sufficiently homologous to the human β3-adrenergic receptor to permit its use as a general model for studying the β3-adrenergic receptor.

The murine RA-β3 (RA-Muβ3) has indeed a certain number of advantages:

it is particularly suitable as model of the β3-adrenergic receptor, in particular for physiological studies which cannot be performed with the human receptor;

it makes it possible to study the regulation of the expression of the β3-adrenergic receptor under various physiological conditions (exposure to cold or to β-adrenergic ligands) which may modify the lipolytic and/or thermogenic activity since the β3-adrenergic receptor is involved in diseases such as diabetes and/or obesity insofar as it is expressed in tissues which play an important part in metabolism (adipose tissues, skeletal muscle in particular);

it makes it possible, in addition, to analyse the expression of the β3-adrenergic receptor during the embryonic development.

The invention also comprises the variant peptides of those defined above, which contain certain mutations without the peptides losing the β3-adrenergic receptor properties. Among these variants, there may be mentioned those which are recognised by antibodies recognising the transmembrane regions, as well as those which are recognised by antibodies recognising regions other than the transmembrane regions.

The subject of the present invention is also fragments or combinations of fragments of RA-muβ3 conforming to the invention, and especially:

a fragment of 25 amino acids (SEQ ID NO:8), corresponding to the transmembrane region TMI of (SEQ ID NO:2);

a fragment of 30 amino acids (SEQ ID NO:9), corresponding to the COOH-terminal fragment of (SEQ ID NO:2).

The said fragments are advantageously obtained by synthesis, especially by the Merrifield method.

The subject of the present invention is also a recombinant cloning and/or expression vector, characterised in that it comprises a nucleotide sequence conforming to the invention.

Within the context of the present invention, recombinant vector is understood to mean at the same time a plasmid, a cosmid and a phage.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the said vector, it consists of an appropriate recombinant vector comprising in particular a replication origin in an appropriate host microorganism, especially a bacterium or a eukaryotic cell, at least one gene whose expression allows the selection either of bacteria or of eukaryotic cells which have received the said vector, an appropriate regulatory sequence, especially a promoter which permits the expression of genes in the said bacteria or eukaryotic cells, and in which is inserted a nucleotide sequence or a fragment of sequence as defined above, which vector is a vector for the expression of a peptide, a peptide fragment or a combination of peptide fragments having a murine β3-adrenergic receptor activity.

According to an advantageous form of this embodiment, the said expression vector successively consists of an appropriate replication origin, a gene for resistance to ampicillin, the viral promoter SV40, a nucleotide sequence conforming to the invention which encodes a peptide having a murine β3-adrenergic receptor activity, a polyadenylation site derived from the hepatitis B virus (HBsAg) and the gene which encodes the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which enzyme permits the survival of cells in a medium lacking glycine, hypoxanthine and thymidine.

Such a plasmid was called pSTH-Moβ3 by the Inventors and was deposited under the number I-1026 on 14 Jan. 1991 with the Collection Nationale de Cultures de Microorganismes held by INSTITUT PASTEUR.

The subject of the present invention is also an appropriate host cell, obtained by genetic transformation, characterised in that it is transformed by an expression vector conforming to the invention.

Such a cell is capable of expressing a peptide of murine origin which has a β3-adrenergic receptor activity.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the host cell especially consists of cells of the CHO line (Chinese Hamster Ovary).

Another of the microorganisms used may consist of a bacterium, especially Escherichia coli.

The subject of the present invention is also a method of expression of a peptide conforming to the invention, characterised in that the host cell, resulting from transformation by a vector containing a nucleotide sequence or a fragment thereof, which encodes a peptide of murine origin having a β3-adrenergic receptor activity or a fragment thereof, is cultured so as to produce and transport the said expressed peptide to the membrane, such that the transmembrane sequences of the said β3 receptor are exposed at the surface of the membrane of the transformed host cell.

In the case of expression in eukaryotic cells, the regulatory elements may comprise the endogenous promoter for the adrenergic receptors or viral promoters such as those of SV40 viruses or of the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV).

In the case of expression in E. coli, the regulatory elements may comprise the lactose operon or tryptophan operon promoter.

The subject of the present invention is also a model for studying the β3-adrenergic receptors, characterised in that it consists of host cells conforming to the invention, that is to say expressing a murine β3-adrenergic receptor at the surface of their cell membrane.

Such a model makes it possible to study, from a pharmacological point of view, murine β3-adrenergic receptors, especially by permitting the identification of β-adrenergic ligands with greater affinity for the β3-adrenergic receptor or more selective with respect to the β1 and β2 receptors and thereby the development of active medicinal products for diseases such as diabetes and/or obesity.

The subject of the invention is also a process for detecting the capacity of a substance to behave like a ligand towards a peptide conforming to the invention, which process comprises:

the placing of the said substance in contact with a host cell previously transformed with an expression vector conforming to the invention, which host cell expresses the said murine peptide (murine RAβ3), where appropriate after suitable physical or chemical induction, and which placing in contact is carried out under conditions which permit the formation of a bond between at least one of the specific sites and the said substance if appropriate; and

the detection of the possible formation of a ligand-peptide type complex.

The subject of the present invention is furthermore a method of producing transgenic mice over-expressing the β3-adrenergic receptor, which method comprises the introduction of several copies of a segment comprising at least the sequence of formula I combined with a suitable promoter, into the cells of a mouse embryo at an early stage.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the said method, the promoter is the promoter of the RA-Muβ3 gene, especially so as to take into account its original distribution in tissue.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the said method, the promoter is a promoter of a gene specifically expressed in a tissue, especially the promoter for muscle actin.

The subject of the present invention is furthermore transgenic mice, characterised in that they are obtained by the method of producing transgenic mice as defined above.

The subject of the present invention is also a method of producing recombinant mice no longer expressing the β3-adrenergic receptor, characterised in that:

a suitable mutation is produced in the sequence of (SEQ ID NO:1) conforming to the invention which inhibits the expression of the gene which encodes the murine β3-adrenergic receptor;

the said modified (SEQ ID NO:1) is introduced into a segment of mouse genomic DNA, combined with an appropriate marker, so as to obtain a labelled sequence M containing the modified sequence of (SEQ ID NO:1);

the said sequence M is integrated in vitro into the stem cells of mouse embryo germ lines; then

the said stem cells are reinjected into a mouse; and after homologous recombination,

homozygous recombinant mice are obtained at the F2 generation which are recognisable by the presence of the marker.

A procedure for recombinant mice is for example described in Nature, 1988, 336, 348-352.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the said method, the said segment of mouse genomic DNA comprises at most 14 Kbases.

According to an advantageous form of this embodiment, when the said fragment is 14 Kbases, it comprises especially the following restriction sites: 3 SphI sites, 2 BamHI sites, 2 HindIII sites, 4 XbaI sites, 4 SacI sites, 1 KpnI site, 1 SmaI site, 2 BglII sites, 2 PvuII sites, 1 PstI site and 1 EcoRI site.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the said method, the mutated (SEQ ID NO:1) is between a BglII site and a BamHI site of the segment of mouse genomic DNA.

The subject of the present invention is furthermore recombinant mice, characterised in that they are obtained by the method of producing recombinant mice as defined above.

The transgenic mice and the recombinant mice as defined above are a particularly advantageous model, from a physiological point of view, for studying β3-adrenergic receptors.

The subject of the present invention is in addition a process for studying the affinity of a polypeptide conforming to the invention for one or more determined ligands, which process comprises:

the transformation of an appropriate host cell by an expression vector conforming to the invention;

the culture of the transformed host cell under conditions which permit the expression of the β3 receptor encoded by the nucleotide sequence, and the transfer of the expressed β3 receptor to the membrane of the said cell so that the transmembrane sequences of the β3 receptor are exposed at the surface of the transformed host cell;

the placing of the said cell in contact with the determined ligands; and

the detection of an affinity reaction between the said transformed cell and the said determined ligands.

The subject of the invention is in addition a kit for detecting the affinity, where appropriate, of a ligand for a peptide conforming to the invention, which kit comprises:

a culture of host cells transformed by an expression vector conforming to the invention;

optionally, if necessary, physical or chemical means for inducing the expression of a peptide (murine β3 receptor or a fragment thereof) encoded by a nucleotide sequence conforming to the invention which is contained in a vector whose promoter is inducible;

one or more control ligands having determined affinities for the said peptide; and

physical or chemical means for characterising the biological activity of the peptide expressed.

The subject of the invention is also antibodies directed specifically against one of the peptides conforming to the invention, these antibodies being such that they recognise neither the β1-adrenergic receptor nor the β2-adrenergic receptor.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the said antibodies are polyclonal antibodies.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the said antibodies are monoclonal antibodies.

The monoclonal antibodies are prepared by cell fusion between myeloma cells and spleen cells of immunised mice according to conventional processes.

Surprisingly, the murine β3-adrenergic receptor permits the implementation of all the abovementioned applications.

In addition to the forms above, the invention also comprises other forms which will become apparent from the description below which refers to exemplary embodiments of the process which is the subject of the present invention.

It should be clearly understood however that these examples are given solely as illustration of the subject of the invention and do not constitute in any manner a limitation thereof.

EXAMPLE 1 Isolation and Identification of the Murine β3-Adrenergic Gene

The murine β3 gene was isolated from a mouse genomic DNA library of the NIH-3T3 line constructed in the phage λ-FixII, using as probe a 1034-bp DNA fragment (Huβ3 probe) containing the entire human β3-adrenergic gene previously isolated (EMORINE. et al., Science, 245, 1118-1121, 1989). After hybridization with the radio labelled probe, the filters are washed and exposed overnight on autoradiographic film. 24 hybridization signals were observed of which 18 subsequently proved to be false positives. The remaining 6 clones (MB1, MB2, MB3, MB4, MB9, MB12) were purified by 4 successive subclonings followed by a hybridization with the probe Huβ3 (see French Application 89 00918).

In order to identify the clone(s) containing the murine β3-adrenergic gene, two methods were used: hybridization with other β-adrenergic probes, and PCR amplification. DNA was prepared from the 6 clones, cut with restriction endonucleases and then hybridized with several probes derived from β-adrenergic genes, as shown in Table I below.

                  TABLE I                                                          ______________________________________                                                PROBES                                                                         Huβ3                                                                           Huβ1                                                                               Huβ2                                                                             i3β3                                                                             3'β1                                                                           i3β2                              ______________________________________                                         Gene                                                                           Human β1                                                                           ++     +++      ++   -      +    -                                    Human β2                                                                           +      ++       +++  -      -    -                                    Human β3                                                                           +++    ++       +    +      -    -                                    Clone                                                                          MB1      +++    +        -    +      -    -                                    MB2      +++    +        -    +      -    -                                    MB3      +++    +        -    +      -    -                                    MB4      +++    +        -    +      -    -                                    MB9      +++    +        -    +      -    -                                    MB12     +      -        -    -      -    -                                    ______________________________________                                    

The probes used are all derived from the human β-adrenergic genes, β1, β2 or β3, as described in French Patent Application No. 89 00918.

Probes Huβ1, Huβ2 and Huβ3 (about 1.2 Kb) respectively contain the entire coding regions of the β1, β2 and β3 genes. As indicated at the top of Table I, each of the probes hybridises with three human genes.

Probes 3'β1, i3β2 and i3β3 (about 200 to 300 bp) correspond to the carboxy-terminal part of β1AR, and to the third intracellular loop of β2AR and β3AR, respectively. These probes are derived from regions which are highly divergent between the β1, β2 and β3 genes, and are therefore specific: as indicated by the upper part of Table I, each of the probes hybridize only with the corresponding gene.

It is evident from the above that the clones MB1, MB2, MB3, MB4 and MB9 hybridize very strongly with the probe Huβ3, and also hybridize with the probe i3β3. The clone MB12 hybridizes very weakly with the starting probe Huβ3, and not at all with the specific probe i3β3. Moreover, comparison of the profiles for the digestion of these six clones with several restriction enzymes shows that MB1, MB4, MB9 on the one hand, and MB2, MB3 on the other hand, are identical, and that these two groups of clones overlap. Clones MB1, MB4 and MB9 are the most useful because the region which hybridizes with the probe is situated roughly in the middle of the cloned DNA fragment.

In order to show that MB1 indeed contains the murine β3-adrenergic gene, PCR amplification experiments were carried out using as primers either "degenerate" oligonucleotides situated in the most conserved domains between the various β-adrenergic genes, or "specific" oligonucleotides of the human β3-adrenergic gene, derived from the most divergent sequences between the three genes. In both cases, an amplification product of the expected size was able to be obtained using the MB1 clone DNA as template.

From these two hybridization and amplification experiments, it was possible to deduce that the clones of the MB1 family contain the murine β3-adrenergic gene.

EXAMPLE 2 Location of the β3-Adrenergic Gene in the MB1 Clone

The DNA of the MB1 clone, which comprises 14 Kb, was digested with twelve restriction enzymes, either separately or in pairs. The resulting fragments were deposited onto agarose gel, transferred onto nylon membrane and hybridized with the Huβ3 probe. After washing and exposure on autoradiographic film, the fragments hybridizing with the probe were able to be identified and the restriction map of the MB1 clone was established (FIG. 1).

In the case of the use of a single restriction enzyme, there is obtained a fragment of 3.6 kb with BglII, of 13 kb with PstI, of 4.1 kb with SacI and of 6.9 kb with BamHI.

The smallest DNA fragment hybridizing with the Huβ3 probe is a fragment of about 1.7 Kb flanked by the SacI and BamHI sites. It is therefore in this fragment that the murine β3-adrenergic gene is located.

EXAMPLE 3 Sequencing of the Murine β3-Adrenergic Gene

The DNA fragment of about 2 Kb, flanked by the sites of the enzymes BglII and BamHI was (SEQ ID NO:1) (see FIG. 1).

This DNA fragment was purified from the DNA of the MB1 clone and subcloned into the BamHI site of vector M13mp18. The M13 clones having integrated the DNA fragment in the two opposite orientations were identified (MB1BB1 and MB1BB2 clones). The DNA of these two M13 clones was prepared and deleted with exonuclease III (ExoIII). Several deletants were isolated, their single-stranded DNA was prepared and sequenced by the Sanger method.

The nucleotide sequence of the mouse β3 gene (1180 bp) and of the noncoding regions (555 bp in 5' and 186 bp in 3' of the gene) is represented by (SEQ ID NO:1). The positions of the restriction sites contained in this 1920-bp fragment are indicated in FIG. 2.

Comparison of the coding regions of the human and murine β3 genes indicates an 82% nucleotide conservation (FIG. 3) whereas they exhibit a homology of the order of only 48-55% with the RA-β1 and β2 genes of the various species. The murine β3 gene does not contain any intron and encodes a polypeptide of 388 amino acids which exhibits 82% homology with the human β3 polypeptide (FIG. 4). This homology is mainly concentrated in the transmembrane regions (93%) ("TM").

EXAMPLE 4 Preparation of Probes Specific for the Murine β3-Adrenergic Gene

Three DNA fragments were purified with the aim of obtaining a probe specific for the murine β3 gene.

The probe "A19" corresponds to the 2-Kb BglII-BamHI fragment which was sequenced (SEQ ID NO:7). This fragment was purified by running on agarose gel, electroeluting and passing through an ion-exchange column (NACS).

The probe "A20" corresponds to the amplification product obtained by PCR from the murine β3 gene using as primers the "degenerate" oligonucleotides (5'-AAGCTTGT/CGTG/CACG/CGCCAGCATC/TGAG/AACCCTGTG-3' (SEQ ID NO:10), and 5'-GTCGACAAGAAGGGCAGC/ACAGCAGAGG/C/AGTGAA-3' (SEQ ID NO:11) in a reaction medium comprising: 100 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.4, 30 mM MgCl₂, 0.5% Tween 20, 0.25% Nonidet P40, 5% formamide and 10% dimethyl sulphoxide. The DNA fragment obtained (about 600 bp) comprises the portion of the gene contained between the transmembrane regions TM3 and TM6 (SEQ ID NO:6). After amplification, the ends of the A20 fragment were filled with polymerase I "Klenow" fragment. The probe was then purified by running on polyacrylamide gel, electroeluting and passing through an ion-exchange column.

The "A21" probe corresponds to the amplification product obtained by PCR from the murine β3 gene using as primers oligonucleotides "specific" for the human β3 gene (5'-GCATGCTCCGTGGCCTCACGAGAA-3' (SEQ ID NO:12) and 5'-CTGCAGGAGGAGGACAGCAGCA-3') (SEQ ID NO:13) in a reaction medium comprising 670 mM Tris-Hcl pH 8.4, 67 mM MgCl₂, 1 mg/ml gelatin, 67 μM EDTA, 100 mM β-mercaptoethanol, 160 mM (NH₄)₂ SO₄, 5% formamide and 10% dimethyl sulphoxide. The DNA fragment obtained (about 300 bp) comprises the amino-terminal region of the gene, going from the translational initiation codon up to the end of the TM2 domain (SEQ ID NO:7). The A21 probe was purified in the same manner as the A20 probe.

The three probes thus prepared were radio labelled and used in genomic DNA hybridization experiments (Southern blotting) in order to estimate their specificity towards the β3 gene. Genomic DNAs prepared from BALB/c mouse liver were digested with a restriction enzyme (BglII: lanes 1 of FIG. 6; BamHI: lanes 2 of FIG. 6); likewise, the genomic DNA isolated from A431 cells (human epidermoid line) was digested with BamHI (lanes 3 of FIG. 6); the fragments obtained were separated on agarose gel and transferred on to nylon membrane. The membrane was then hybridized with one of the radio labelled probes (A19: zone A, A20: zone B or A21: zone C of FIG. 6), washed under low stringency conditions and then autoradiographed. Each of these probes detects a single band on the BALB/c mouse genomic DNA (FIG. 6). In each of the cases, the size of the hybridization fragment (3.6 Kb with the enzyme BglII, 6.9 Kb with the enzyme BamHI, 13 Kb with the enzyme PstI and 4.1 Kb with SacI) corresponds to that of the murine β3-adrenergic gene which was cloned.

These results indicate that each of these three probes specifically detects the mouse β3-adrenergic gene. The presence of a single band in the mouse total DNA indicates that in the murine genome, there is no other sequence highly homologous to the β3-adrenergic gene. It can be concluded from this that only one copy of the RA-β3 gene exists in mice.

EXAMPLE 5 Construction of a Vector for Expressing the Murine RA-β3.

The study of the pharmacological properties of the product of the murine β3 gene requires that it is expressed at the surface of eukaryotic cells which possess all the elements necessary for translation of the signal. In order to be able to directly compare the properties of the murine and human β3-AR receptors, it was decided to express the mouse β3 gene in the CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cell line which has already been used to analyse the human β3-AR receptor (see French Patent Application No. 89 00918).

In this system (FIG. 7), the coding region of the gene to be analysed is inserted between the SV40 viral promoter (this strong promoter makes it possible to obtain a high level of expression) and a polyadenylation site derived from the hepatitis B virus (HBsAg), into a plasmid also containing the gene encoding dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR, an enzyme which makes it possible for the cells to survive in a medium lacking glycine, hypoxanthine and thymidine).

The restriction map of the 2-Kb fragment which was sequenced (SEQ ID NO:1) (FIG. 2) indicates the presence of a NarI enzyme cleavage site at position 555, that is to say 15 nucleotides upstream of the coding region of the mouse β3 gene. The DNA of the clone MB1BB1 (2 Kb (SEQ ID NO:1) inserted into M13mp18) was digested with the enzymes NarI and BamHI in order to release the 1360-bp fragment (SEQ ID NO:4) containing the coding region of the β3 gene and a portion of the untranslated 3' region. This DNA fragment was purified and then inserted into the expression vector at the cleavage sites of the enzymes HindIII and BamHI (FIG. 7). As the ends generated by the enzymes NarI and HindIII are not compatible, care was taken, during the enzymatic digestion, to treat the NarI ends of the insert on the one hand, and the HindIII ends of the vector on the other hand, with polymerase I "Klenow" fragment so as to obtained blunt ends.

The recombinant plasmid pSTH-Muβ3 represented in FIG. 7 was thus obtained.

EXAMPLE 6 Chromosomal Location of the Murine RA-β3 Gene.

Procedure

For the chromosomal location of the murine RA-β3 gene, in situ hybridization is carried out on concanavalin A-stimulated lymphocytes in metaphase; these lymphocytes are derived from male WMP mice in which all the autosomes, with the exception of autosome 19, are in the form of Robertsonian translocations.

The lymphocytes are cultured at 37° C. for 72 h, with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (60 μg/ml) added at the 65th hour of culture.

The specific probe is the A21 probe as described in Example 4.

This probe is subcloned into the plasmid vector puC19, labelled with tritium by nick translation, so as to obtain a specific activity of 10⁸ d.p.m./μg and is used at a final concentration of 25 ng/ml of hybridization solution.

The hybridization of the metaphase cells, the washes and the staining are performed as described in MATTEI et al. (Human Genetics, 1985, 69, 268-271).

Location

The murine RA-β3 gene was located in the (8A2-8A4) region of chromosome 8 by in situ chromosomal hybridization, according to the procedure above.

In the 150 metaphase cells examined, there were 278 silver-stained spots associated with the chromosomes: 46 of these spots (16.5%) were located on chromosomes 8, and 32 of them (69.5%) in the (8A2-8A4) region (FIG. 8).

FIG. 8 comprises in FIG. 8A, a partial mouse lymphocyte metaphase showing the specific site of hybridization to chromosome 8; on the left, the arrow indicates the silver-stained spots on the Giemsa-stained chromosomes, after autoradiography; on the right (FIG. 8B) the stained chromosomes are identified by "R-banding".

EXAMPLE 7 Pharmacology of the Murine RA-β3 Receptor

1. Tests Used

a. Test for cAMP Accumulation

preconfluent cells such as those described in Example 5 (5×10⁵) are incubated at 37° C. for 20 minutes in 0.5 ml of HANKS buffer containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.4), 1 mM ascorbic acid, 1 mM isobutylmethylxanthine and various concentrations of agonist.

After boiling for 5 min and centrifugation (4000 r.p.m., 10 min, 4° C.), the quantity of cAMP produced is determined using the Amersham cAMP kit.

For the study of the inhibition of cAMP accumulation, the cells are preincubated at 37° C. for 10 min with an antagonist, before the addition of 5 nM (-)-isoproterenol, followed by incubation for 20 min.

b. Test for the Binding of ICYP

preconfluent cells such as those described in Example 5 (10⁵) are incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. in a HANKS buffer containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.4), 1 mM ascorbic acid, 2 μM desipramine, 0.05% bovine serum albumin and 70-7000 pM (-)- ¹²⁵ I!ICYP (2000 Ci/mmol, Amersham).

Non-specific binding is determined in the presence of 100 μM (-)-isoproterenol.

The incubations are stopped by dilution in cold PBS buffer and the bound ligand is separated from free ¹²⁵ I!ICYP by filtration (Whatman GF/C filters impregnated with 0.3% polyethyleneimine).

The filters are washed 3 times with cold PBS buffer and the radioactivity is measured.

2. Pharmacological Profile

To determine the pharmacological profile of murine RA-β3, the coding region of its gene was inserted into an expression vector like that described in Example 5.

The binding to saturation of ¹²⁵ I!iodocyanopindolol (ICYP) and the corresponding Scatchard analysis (FIG. 9, which comprises on the x-axis the log of ICYP concentration (nM) and on the y-axis the quantity of bound ICYP (fmol) (with Scatchard)) indicates that the CHO cells transfected in a stable manner (CHO-Muβ3) express 200,000±50,000 receptors/cell with a dissociation constant of 880±88 pM (mean±SEM, n=3).

The accumulation of cAMP is stimulated by incubation of the CHO-Muβ3 cells with isoproterenol, noradrenaline and adrenaline (FIG. 10A).

This stimulation is stereospecific since (-)-isoproterenol is 20 times more active than (+)-isoproterenol, as illustrated in Table II below:

                                      TABLE II                                     __________________________________________________________________________              CHO-Muβ3 CHO-Huβ3a                                                   A.I.   K.sub.act or K.sub.i                                                                  A.I.   K.sub.act or K.sub.i                             Ligands  (% IPR)                                                                               (nM)   (% NA) (nM)                                             __________________________________________________________________________     Complete agonists:                                                             BRL 37344                                                                               107.4 ± 8.1                                                                           0.4 ± 0.1                                                                        87.2 ± 15.4                                                                          5.9 ± 1.3                                  (-)-isoproterenol                                                                       100.0 ± 10.3                                                                          4.5 ± 1.9                                                                        90.2 ± 2.1                                                                           3.9 ± 0.4                                  (-)-noradrenaline                                                                       105.6 ± 5.6                                                                          12.9 ± 4.2                                                                       100       6.3 ± 0.7                                  (-)-adrenalin                                                                            90.6 ± 2.9                                                                          23.0 ± 0.3                                                                       100.4 ± 3.8                                                                          49.2 ± 5.3                                  (+)-isoproterenol                                                                       304.0 ± 10.2                                                                         99.0 ± 44.0                                                                       97.3 ± 10.9                                                                        111.0 ± 1.0                                  Partial agonists                                                               CGP 13177A                                                                               74.9 ± 7.9                                                                          40.5 ± 8.7                                                                        67.6 ± 2.0                                                                         138.7 ± 44.3                                 oxprenolol                                                                               43.8 ± 6.1                                                                         535.3 ± 79.3                                                                       53.3 ± 6.8                                                                          76.6 ± 12.6                                 pindolol  35.1 ± 3.1                                                                         998.7 ± 197.0                                                                      55.0 ± 5.3                                                                         153.0 ± 12.0                                 Antagonists:                                                                   Propranolol      450.0 ± 221.2                                                                            ND                                               ICI 116551      4968.9 ± 137.4                                                                             770.0 ± 80.0                                 CGP 00712A      6424.6 ± 583.6                                                                            6700.0 ± 870.0                                __________________________________________________________________________

In this Table II, A.I. represents the intrinsic activity and corresponds to the percentage of maximum stimulation obtained for each agonist as a function of the maximum effect of (-)-isoproterenol, the basal and maximum concentrations of cAMP, which is induced by isoproterenol, being 25 and 500 pmol per million cells, respectively.

The K_(act) values correspond to the agonist concentration giving 50% of the maximum stimulation.

The K_(i) values are calculated according to CHENG and PRUSOFF (Biochem. Pharmacol., 1973, 32, 3099-3108), with IC₅₀ values defined as the antagonist concentration required to induce a 50% inhibition of the maximum activity obtained with (-)-isoproterenol (5 nM).

The agonist BRL 37344 is 10 times more active than (-)-isoproterenol (IPR) for inducing cAMP accumulation (FIG. 10B, Table II).

The β1 and β2 antagonists CGP 12177A, oxprenolol and pindolol behave like partial agonists of the murine RA-β3, with a maximum stimulation of cAMP accumulation of 77%, 45% and 36%, respectively, of that for (-)-isoproterenol.

For other β antagonists such as propranolol (nonselective), ICI 118551 (β2-selective) and CGP 20712A (β1-selective) (FIG. 10C), micromolar concentrations are required to inhibit the cAMP accumulation induced by (-)-isoproterenol.

FIGS. 10A and 10B comprise, on the x-axis, the log of the ligand concentration (M) and on the y-axis, the percentage cAMP accumulation (percentage of the maximum response induced by isoproterenol).

FIG. 10A corresponds to conventional β-agonists (▪: (-)-isoproterenol; □: (-)-noradrenalin; : (-)-adrenalin; ◯: (+)-isoproterenol); FIG. 10B corresponds to atypical β-agonists (□: BRL 37344; ▪: (-)-isoproterenol; ◯: CGP 12177A; : oxprenolol; ▴: pindolol).

FIG. 10C comprises, on the x-axis, the log of the ligand concentration (M) and on the y-axis, the percentage inhibition of cAMP accumulation (percentage of the response induced by 5 nM isoproterenol) and corresponds to the action of β antagonists in the presence of 5 nM (-)-isoproterenol (▴: (-)-propranolol; ◯: ICI 118551; ▪: CGP 20712A).

3. Tissue Distribution

Hybridization analysis, with the A21 probe (SEQ ID NO:7), of the total RNA (Northern technique) extracted from various mouse tissues reveals a major 2.2 Kb band both in the white adipose tissue and in the brown adipose tissue.

In the differentiated adipocytes 3T3-F442A, a major transcript of similar size (2.2 kb) as well as a minor 2.8-kb transcript are detected (FIG. 11).

No hybridization signal is detected in the total RNA prepared from other tissues (femoral muscle, lungs, liver, ileum, colon, brain, stomach, heart and kidneys).

The above pharmacological profile of the murine RA-β3 suggests a receptor which acts on lipolysis (receptor of the atypical RA-β type involved in the regulation of the energy consumption of rodent adipose cells).

For example, the potent agonist effect of BRL 37344 on RA-β3 is reminiscent of its effectiveness in the stimulation of cAMP accumulation, of lipolysis and of thermogenesis in obese rat cells.

The RA-β3-specific agonist CGP 12177A stimulates lipolysis and adenylate cyclase activity.

FIG. 11 represents a hybridization between the A21 probe (SEQ ID NO:7) and the total RNA (30 μg) of mouse tissues or of the adipose cell lines 3T3-F442A (on day 7 of the differentiation), after RNA transfer (Northern technique).

In this FIG. 11, WAT means white adipose tissue; BAT means brown adipose tissue.

The sizes of the transcripts which hybridize are indicated in kb on the right, and the position of the 28S and 18S rRNA bands is represented on the left hand side of the figure.

4. Comparison with Human RA-β3

a. Points in Common

Comparison of the pharmacological properties is illustrated in Table II above.

The labelled β-adrenergic antagonist ¹²⁵ I!ICYP binds to murine RA-β3 and to human RA-β3 with a similar affinity, which is of the order of 10 to 20 times less than that obtained with RA-β1 and RA-β2.

Likewise, antagonists such as propranolol, ICI 118551 and CGP 20712A are weak inhibitors of the isoproterenol-induced accumulation of cAMP.

Like the human receptor, murine RA-β3 can be activated by the β1 and β2 antagonists: CGP 12177A, oxprenolol and pindolol.

These two types of receptors (murine and human) have a low stereoselectivity.

b. Differences

In the transmembrane domains, which are involved in the binding of the ligand, the presence of 12 substitutions can be noted between the two receptors.

Furthermore, the 30 C-terminal residues of the mouse β3 do not exhibit any homology with the C-terminal tail of the human β3 receptor (FIG. 5). The murine RA-β3 comprises a tyrosine residue in position 360 of the amino acid sequence, which does not exist in the human RA-β3 sequence (FIG. 5).

The most striking differences appear in the intracytoplasmic loops near the transmembrane regions where 3 arginine residues (positions 61, 150 and 289 of the murine RA-β3) are replaced by a tryptophan, a cysteine and another cysteine, respectively, in the human RA-β3.

Such differences could be responsible for pharmacological modifications such as that of the increased potency of the agonist BRL 37344 in mice, which makes it possible in particular to study the metabolism of adipose tissue; indeed, murine RA-β3 is, surprisingly, sufficiently related to human RA-β3 for such a study.

As evident from the above, the invention is not in the least limited to the implementations, embodiments and applications which have just been described more explicitly; on the contrary, it embraces all the variants which may occur to a specialist in this field without departing from the framework or the scope of the present invention. ##SPC1##

    __________________________________________________________________________     SEQUENCE LISTING                                                               (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                                       (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 17                                                  (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1920 base pairs                                                    (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 568..1731                                                        (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                        GATCTGTAATCCCAGCACTGGGGAGGTTGAGGCAGAAGGATCTGGAGGTCCAGACCAATC60                 TGGGCAACATATAGAAAGACTATCTCAAACAATAAGATACCTTAGGGAGAGCATCCAAGC120                AGAAGAGGGGCTATCTTGGATGGTTTGGGTTGTTCGGTTTTGTTTTGGTTTGTTTCTGGA180                TGGTTGCCTTCCTTGTTGGGTAAAGGATAGGGTGCGGGGGTTTCTCTTCTTTGCAGGGTT240                GCCTCAGGTTCTGCCAGGAAGGAGCTGCTGAGCTCCAGGAAACCGGTGCTGAGGGAGTGT300                CAAGACAGGACGCCCCTCTCCACCCTCCAATTCCCACCAGAGGCCTCTCTTGTGACTATT360                GGACGCTGTTCCTTTAAAAGCAGCCACTCCTCCCGGCAACTAGGGTGTACATGGGGGGTG420                AGATGGAGGGAAGCTGACAGACTTACCCCAGCAATTAGGGAAGATGGCCCAGGCTGGAAG480                AGTCGCTCCCAAGCCCTACTGTCCCCTTCCCTAAGCCAGCGGGTCTGGGGAGGAGGGGGA540                ACCTTCCCACCCCAGGCGCCACACGAGATGGCTCCGTGGCCTCACAGAAAC591                         MetAlaProTrpProHisArgAsn                                                       15                                                                             GGCTCTCTGGCTTTGTGGTCGGACGCCCCTACCCTGGACCCCAGTGCA639                            GlySerLeuAlaLeuTrpSerAspAlaProThrLeuAspProSerAla                               101520                                                                         GCCAACACCAGTGGGTTGCCAGGAGTACCATGGGCAGCGGCATTGGCT687                            AlaAsnThrSerGlyLeuProGlyValProTrpAlaAlaAlaLeuAla                               25303540                                                                       GGGGCATTGCTGGCGCTGGCCACGGTGGGAGGCAACCTGCTGGTAATC735                            GlyAlaLeuLeuAlaLeuAlaThrValGlyGlyAsnLeuLeuValIle                               455055                                                                         ATAGCCATCGCCCGCACGCCGAGACTACAGACCATAACCAACGTGTTC783                            IleAlaIleAlaArgThrProArgLeuGlnThrIleThrAsnValPhe                               606570                                                                         GTGACTTCACTGGCCGCAGCTGACTTGGTAGTGGGACTCCTCGTAATG831                            ValThrSerLeuAlaAlaAlaAspLeuValValGlyLeuLeuValMet                               758085                                                                         CCACCAGGGGCCACATTGGCGCTGACTGGCCATTGGCCCTTGGGCGAA879                            ProProGlyAlaThrLeuAlaLeuThrGlyHisTrpProLeuGlyGlu                               9095100                                                                        ACTGGTTGCGAACTGTGGACGTCAGTGGACGTGCTCTGTGTAACTGCT927                            ThrGlyCysGluLeuTrpThrSerValAspValLeuCysValThrAla                               105110115120                                                                   AGCATCGAGACCTTGTGCGCCCTGGCTGTGGACCGCTACCTAGCTGTC975                            SerIleGluThrLeuCysAlaLeuAlaValAspArgTyrLeuAlaVal                               125130135                                                                      ACCAACCCTTTGCGTTACGGCACGCTGGTTACCAAGCGCCGCGCCCGC1023                           ThrAsnProLeuArgTyrGlyThrLeuValThrLysArgArgAlaArg                               140145150                                                                      GCGGCAGTTGTCCTGGTGTGGATCGTGTCCGCTGCCGTGTCCTTTGCG1071                           AlaAlaValValLeuValTrpIleValSerAlaAlaValSerPheAla                               155160165                                                                      CCCATCATGAGCCAGTGGTGGCGTGTAGGGGCAGATGCCGAGGCACAG1119                           ProIleMetSerGlnTrpTrpArgValGlyAlaAspAlaGluAlaGln                               170175180                                                                      GAATGCCACTCCAATCCGCGCTGCTGTTCCTTTGCCTCCAACATGCCC1167                           GluCysHisSerAsnProArgCysCysSerPheAlaSerAsnMetPro                               185190195200                                                                   TATGCGCTGCTCTCCTCCTCCGTCTCCTTCTACCTTCCCCTCCTTGTG1215                           TyrAlaLeuLeuSerSerSerValSerPheTyrLeuProLeuLeuVal                               205210215                                                                      ATGCTCTTCGTCTATGCTCGAGTGTTCGTTGTGGCTAAGCGCCAACGG1263                           MetLeuPheValTyrAlaArgValPheValValAlaLysArgGlnArg                               220225230                                                                      CATTTGCTGCGCCGGGAACTGGGCCGCTTCTCGCCCGAGGAGTCTCCG1311                           HisLeuLeuArgArgGluLeuGlyArgPheSerProGluGluSerPro                               235240245                                                                      CCGTCTCCGTCGCGCTCTCCGTCCCCTGCCACAGGCGGGACACCCGCG1359                           ProSerProSerArgSerProSerProAlaThrGlyGlyThrProAla                               250255260                                                                      GCACCGGATGGAGTGCCCCCCTGCGGCCGGCGGCCTGCGCGCCTCCTG1407                           AlaProAspGlyValProProCysGlyArgArgProAlaArgLeuLeu                               265270275280                                                                   CCACTCCGGGAACACCGCGCCCTGCGCACCTTAGGTCTCATTATGGGC1455                           ProLeuArgGluHisArgAlaLeuArgThrLeuGlyLeuIleMetGly                               285290295                                                                      ATCTTCTCTCTGTGCTGGCTGCCCTTCTTCCTGGCCAACGTGCTGCGC1503                           IlePheSerLeuCysTrpLeuProPhePheLeuAlaAsnValLeuArg                               300305310                                                                      GCACTCGCGGGGCCCTCTCTAGTTCCCAGCGGAGTTTTCATCGCCCTG1551                           AlaLeuAlaGlyProSerLeuValProSerGlyValPheIleAlaLeu                               315320325                                                                      AACTGGCTGGGCTATGCCAACTCCGCCTTCAACCCGGTCATCTACTGC1599                           AsnTrpLeuGlyTyrAlaAsnSerAlaPheAsnProValIleTyrCys                               330335340                                                                      CGCAGCCCGGACTTTCGCGACGCCTTCCGTCGTCTTCTGTGTAGCTAC1647                           ArgSerProAspPheArgAspAlaPheArgArgLeuLeuCysSerTyr                               345350355360                                                                   GGTGGCCGTGGACCGGAGGAGCCACGCGCAGTCACCTTCCCAGCCAGC1695                           GlyGlyArgGlyProGluGluProArgAlaValThrPheProAlaSer                               365370375                                                                      CCTGTTGAAGCCAGGCAGAGTCCACCGCTCAACAGGTAGGGGACAC1741                             ProValGluAlaArgGlnSerProProLeuAsnArg                                           380385                                                                         GAGCGGGGGACCGGAGTCTCTGGGTGGGGACGTCTCTGTCTCTATTTTTGAGTTTGGAGA1801               TTGGGGGAGGGGAAGATGTAGATGGGGGTGCGGTGTGTGTGTGGGTGGGGGGTGGCCTTT1861               GTCTTGAGAGGACAGAAAAGAGGTAGGAACTAAAACGGGCCCTTTCTCTTCTTGGATCC1920                (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 388 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                        MetAlaProTrpProHisArgAsnGlySerLeuAlaLeuTrpSerAsp                               151015                                                                         AlaProThrLeuAspProSerAlaAlaAsnThrSerGlyLeuProGly                               202530                                                                         ValProTrpAlaAlaAlaLeuAlaGlyAlaLeuLeuAlaLeuAlaThr                               354045                                                                         ValGlyGlyAsnLeuLeuValIleIleAlaIleAlaArgThrProArg                               505560                                                                         LeuGlnThrIleThrAsnValPheValThrSerLeuAlaAlaAlaAsp                               65707580                                                                       LeuValValGlyLeuLeuValMetProProGlyAlaThrLeuAlaLeu                               859095                                                                         ThrGlyHisTrpProLeuGlyGluThrGlyCysGluLeuTrpThrSer                               100105110                                                                      ValAspValLeuCysValThrAlaSerIleGluThrLeuCysAlaLeu                               115120125                                                                      AlaValAspArgTyrLeuAlaValThrAsnProLeuArgTyrGlyThr                               130135140                                                                      LeuValThrLysArgArgAlaArgAlaAlaValValLeuValTrpIle                               145150155160                                                                   ValSerAlaAlaValSerPheAlaProIleMetSerGlnTrpTrpArg                               165170175                                                                      ValGlyAlaAspAlaGluAlaGlnGluCysHisSerAsnProArgCys                               180185190                                                                      CysSerPheAlaSerAsnMetProTyrAlaLeuLeuSerSerSerVal                               195200205                                                                      SerPheTyrLeuProLeuLeuValMetLeuPheValTyrAlaArgVal                               210215220                                                                      PheValValAlaLysArgGlnArgHisLeuLeuArgArgGluLeuGly                               225230235240                                                                   ArgPheSerProGluGluSerProProSerProSerArgSerProSer                               245250255                                                                      ProAlaThrGlyGlyThrProAlaAlaProAspGlyValProProCys                               260265270                                                                      GlyArgArgProAlaArgLeuLeuProLeuArgGluHisArgAlaLeu                               275280285                                                                      ArgThrLeuGlyLeuIleMetGlyIlePheSerLeuCysTrpLeuPro                               290295300                                                                      PhePheLeuAlaAsnValLeuArgAlaLeuAlaGlyProSerLeuVal                               305310315320                                                                   ProSerGlyValPheIleAlaLeuAsnTrpLeuGlyTyrAlaAsnSer                               325330335                                                                      AlaPheAsnProValIleTyrCysArgSerProAspPheArgAspAla                               340345350                                                                      PheArgArgLeuLeuCysSerTyrGlyGlyArgGlyProGluGluPro                               355360365                                                                      ArgAlaValThrPheProAlaSerProValGluAlaArgGlnSerPro                               370375380                                                                      ProLeuAsnArg                                                                   385                                                                            (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1164 base pairs                                                    (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:                                        ATGGCTCCGTGGCCTCACAGAAACGGCTCTCTGGCTTTGTGGTCGGACGCCCCTACCCTG60                 GACCCCAGTGCAGCCAACACCAGTGGGTTGCCAGGAGTACCATGGGCAGCGGCATTGGCT120                GGGGCATTGCTGGCGCTGGCCACGGTGGGAGGCAACCTGCTGGTAATCATAGCCATCGCC180                CGCACGCCGAGACTACAGACCATAACCAACGTGTTCGTGACTTCACTGGCCGCAGCTGAC240                TTGGTAGTGGGACTCCTCGTAATGCCACCAGGGGCCACATTGGCGCTGACTGGCCATTGG300                CCCTTGGGCGAAACTGGTTGCGAACTGTGGACGTCAGTGGACGTGCTCTGTGTAACTGCT360                AGCATCGAGACCTTGTGCGCCCTGGCTGTGGACCGCTACCTAGCTGTCACCAACCCTTTG420                CGTTACGGCACGCTGGTTACCAAGCGCCGCGCCCGCGCGGCAGTTGTCCTGGTGTGGATC480                GTGTCCGCTGCCGTGTCCTTTGCGCCCATCATGAGCCAGTGGTGGCGTGTAGGGGCAGAT540                GCCGAGGCACAGGAATGCCACTCCAATCCGCGCTGCTGTTCCTTTGCCTCCAACATGCCC600                TATGCGCTGCTCTCCTCCTCCGTCTCCTTCTACCTTCCCCTCCTTGTGATGCTCTTCGTC660                TATGCTCGAGTGTTCGTTGTGGCTAAGCGCCAACGGCATTTGCTGCGCCGGGAACTGGGC720                CGCTTCTCGCCCGAGGAGTCTCCGCCGTCTCCGTCGCGCTCTCCGTCCCCTGCCACAGGC780                GGGACACCCGCGGCACCGGATGGAGTGCCCCCCTGCGGCCGGCGGCCTGCGCGCCTCCTG840                CCACTCCGGGAACACCGCGCCCTGCGCACCTTAGGTCTCATTATGGGCATCTTCTCTCTG900                TGCTGGCTGCCCTTCTTCCTGGCCAACGTGCTGCGCGCACTCGCGGGGCCCTCTCTAGTT960                CCCAGCGGAGTTTTCATCGCCCTGAACTGGCTGGGCTATGCCAACTCCGCCTTCAACCCG1020               GTCATCTACTGCCGCAGCCCGGACTTTCGCGACGCCTTCCGTCGTCTTCTGTGTAGCTAC1080               GGTGGCCGTGGACCGGAGGAGCCACGCGCAGTCACCTTCCCAGCCAGCCCTGTTGAAGCC1140               AGGCAGAGTCCACCGCTCAACAGG1164                                                   (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1360 base pairs                                                    (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:                                        GGCGCCACACGAGATGGCTCCGTGGCCTCACAGAAACGGCTCTCTGGCTTTGTGGTCGGA60                 CGCCCCTACCCTGGACCCCAGTGCAGCCAACACCAGTGGGTTGCCAGGAGTACCATGGGC120                AGCGGCATTGGCTGGGGCATTGCTGGCGCTGGCCACGGTGGGAGGCAACCTGCTGGTAAT180                CATAGCCATCGCCCGCACGCCGAGACTACAGACCATAACCAACGTGTTCGTGACTTCACT240                GGCCGCAGCTGACTTGGTAGTGGGACTCCTCGTAATGCCACCAGGGGCCACATTGGCGCT300                GACTGGCCATTGGCCCTTGGGCGAAACTGGTTGCGAACTGTGGACGTCAGTGGACGTGCT360                CTGTGTAACTGCTAGCATCGAGACCTTGTGCGCCCTGGCTGTGGACCGCTACCTAGCTGT420                CACCAACCCTTTGCGTTACGGCACGCTGGTTACCAAGCGCCGCGCCCGCGCGGCAGTTGT480                CCTGGTGTGGATCGTGTCCGCTGCCGTGTCCTTTGCGCCCATCATGAGCCAGTGGTGGCG540                TGTAGGGGCAGATGCCGAGGCACAGGAATGCCACTCCAATCCGCGCTGCTGTTCCTTTGC600                CTCCAACATGCCCTATGCGCTGCTCTCCTCCTCCGTCTCCTTCTACCTTCCCCTCCTTGT660                GATGCTCTTCGTCTATGCTCGAGTGTTCGTTGTGGCTAAGCGCCAACGGCATTTGCTGCG720                CCGGGAACTGGGCCGCTTCTCGCCCGAGGAGTCTCCGCCGTCTCCGTCGCGCTCTCCGTC780                CCCTGCCACAGGCGGGACACCCGCGGCACCGGATGGAGTGCCCCCCTGCGGCCGGCGGCC840                TGCGCGCCTCCTGCCACTCCGGGAACACCGCGCCCTGCGCACCTTAGGTCTCATTATGGG900                CATCTTCTCTCTGTGCTGGCTGCCCTTCTTCCTGGCCAACGTGCTGCGCGCACTCGCGGG960                GCCCTCTCTAGTTCCCAGCGGAGTTTTCATCGCCCTGAACTGGCTGGGCTATGCCAACTC1020               CGCCTTCAACCCGGTCATCTACTGCCGCAGCCCGGACTTTCGCGACGCCTTCCGTCGTCT1080               TCTGTGTAGCTACGGTGGCCGTGGACCGGAGGAGCCACGCGCAGTCACCTTCCCAGCCAG1140               CCCTGTTGAAGCCAGGCAGAGTCCACCGCTCAACAGGTAGGGGACACGAGCGGGGGACCG1200               GAGTCTCTGGGTGGGGACGTCTCTGTCTCTATTTTTGAGTTTGGAGATTGGGGGAGGGGA1260               AGATGTAGATGGGGGTGCGGTGTGTGTGTGGGTGGGGGGTGGCCTTTGTCTTGAGAGGAC1320               AGAAAAGAGGTAGGAACTAAAACGGGCCCTTTCTCTTCTT1360                                   (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 281 base pairs                                                     (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:                                        GTAGCTACGGTGGCCGTGGACCGGAGGAGCCACGCGCAGTCACCTTCCCAGCCAGCCCTG60                 TTGAAGCCAGGCAGAGTCCACCGCTCAACAGGTAGGGGACACGAGCGGGGGACCGGAGTC120                TCTGGGTGGGGACGTCTCTGTCTCTATTTTTGAGTTTGGAGATTGGGGGAGGGGAAGATG180                TAGATGGGGGTGCGGTGTGTGTGTGGGTGGGGGGTGGCCTTTGTCTTGAGAGGACAGAAA240                AGAGGTAGGAACTAAAACGGGCCCTTTCTCTTCTTGGATCC281                                   (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 609 base pairs                                                     (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:                                        TGGACGTCAGTGGACGTGCTCTGTGTAACTGCTAGCATCGAGACCTTGTGCGCCCTGGCT60                 GTGGACCGCTACCTAGCTGTCACCAACCCTTTGCGTTACGGCACGCTGGTTACCAAGCGC120                CGCGCCCGCGCGGCAGTTGTCCTGGTGTGGATCGTGTCCGCTGCCGTGTCCTTTGCGCCC180                ATCATGAGCCAGTGGTGGCGTGTAGGGGCAGATGCCGAGGCACAGGAATGCCACTCCAAT240                CCGCGCTGCTGTTCCTTTGCCTCCAACATGCCCTATGCGCTGCTCTCCTCCTCCGTCTCC300                TTCTACCTTCCCCTCCTTGTGATGCTCTTCGTCTATGCTCGAGTGTTCGTTGTGGCTAAG360                CGCCAACGGCATTTGCTGCGCCGGGAACTGGGCCGCTTCTCGCCCGAGGAGTCTCCGCCG420                TCTCCGTCGCGCTCTCCGTCCCCTGCCACAGGCGGGACACCCGCGGCACCGGATGGAGTG480                CCCCCCTGCGGCCGGCGGCCTGCGCGCCTCCTGCCACTCCGGGAACACCGCGCCCTGCGC540                ACCTTAGGTCTCATTATGGGCATCTTCTCTCTGTGCTGGCTGCCCTTCTTCCTGGCCAAC600                GTGCTGCGC609                                                                   (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 298 base pairs                                                     (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:                                        GATGGCTCCGTGGCCTCACAGAAACGGCTCTCTGGCTTTGTGGTCGGACGCCCCTACCCT60                 GGACCCCAGTGCAGCCAACACCAGTGGGTTGCCAGGAGTACCATGGGCAGCGGCATTGGC120                TGGGGCATTGCTGGCGCTGGCCACGGTGGGAGGCAACCTGCTGGTAATCATAGCCATCGC180                CCGCACGCCGAGACTACAGACCATAACCAACGTGTTCGTGACTTCACTGGCCGCAGCTGA240                CTTGGTAGTGGGACTCCTCGTAATGCCACCAGGGGCCACATTGGCGCTGACTGGCCAT298                  (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 25 amino acids                                                     (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:                                        AlaAlaAlaLeuAlaGlyAlaLeuLeuAlaLeuAlaThrValGlyGly                               151015                                                                         AsnLeuLeuValIleIleAlaIleAla                                                    2025                                                                           (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 30 amino acids                                                     (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:                                        SerTyrGlyGlyArgGlyProGluGluProArgAlaValThrPhePro                               151015                                                                         AlaSerProValGluAlaArgGlnSerProProLeuAsnArg                                     202530                                                                         (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 40 base pairs                                                      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:                                       AAGCTTGTCGTGCACGCGGCCAGCATCTGAGAACCCTGTG40                                     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 35 base pairs                                                      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:                                       GTCGACAAGAAGGGCAGCACAGCAGAGGCAGTGAA35                                          (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 24 base pairs                                                      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:                                       GCATGCTCCGTGGCCTCACGAGAA24                                                     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 22 base pairs                                                      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:                                       CTGCAGGAGGAGGACAGCAGCA22                                                       (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1134 base pairs                                                    (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:                                       ATGGCTCCGTGGCCTCACGAGAACAGCTCTCTTGCCCCATGGCCGGACCTCCCCACCCTG60                 GCGCCCAATACCGCCAACACCAGTGGGCTGCCAGGGGTTCCGTGGGAGGCGGCCCTAGCC120                GGGGCCCTGCTGGCGCTGGCGGTGCTGGCCACCGTGGGAGGCAACCTGCTGGTCATCGTG180                GCCATCGCCTGGACTCCGAGACTCCAGACCATGACCAACGTGTTCGTGACTTCGCTGGCC240                GCAGCCGACCTGGTGATGGGACTCCTGGTGGTGCCGCCGGCGGCCACCTTGGCGCTGACT300                GGCCACTGGCCGTTGGGCGCCACTGGCTGCGAGCTGTGGACCTCGGTGGACGTGCTGTGT360                GTGACCGCCAGCATCGAAACCCTGTGCGCCCTGGCCGTGGACCGCTACCTGGCTGTGACC420                AACCCGCTGCGTTACGGCGCACTGGTCACCAAGCGCTGCGCCCGGACAGCTGTGGTCCTG480                GTGTGGGTCGTGTCGGCCGCGGTGTCGTTTGCGCCCATCATGAGCCAGTGGTGGCGCGTA540                GGGGCCGACGCCGAGGCGCAGCGCTGCCACTCCAACCCGCGCTGCTGTGCCTTCGCCTCC600                AACATGCCCTACGTGCTGCTGTCCTCCTCCGTCTCCTTCTACCTTCCTCTTCTCGTGATG660                CTCTTCGTCTACGCGCGGGTTTTCGTGGTGGCTACGCGCCAGCTGCGCTTGCTGCGCGGG720                GAGCTGGGCCGCTTTCCGCCCGAGGAGTCTCCGCCGGCGCCGTCGCGCTCTCTGGCCCCG780                GCCCCGGTGGGGACGTGCGCTCCGCCCGAAGGGGTGCCCGCCTGCGGCCGGCGGCCCGCG840                CGCCTCCTGCCTCTCCGGGAACACCGGGCCCTGTGCACCTTGGGTCTCATCATGGGCACC900                TTCACTCTCTGCTGGTTGCCCTTCTTTCTGGCCAACGTGCTGCGCGCCCTGGGGGGCCCC960                TCTCTAGTCCCGGGCCCGGCTTTCCTTGCCCTGAACTGGCTAGGTTATGCCAATTCTGCC1020               TTCAACCCGCTCATCTACTGCCGCAGCCCGGACTTTCGCAGCGCCTTCCGCCGTCTTCTG1080               TGCCGCTGCGGCCGTCGCCTGCCTCCGGAGCCCTGCGCCGCCGCCCGCCCGGCC1134                     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 402 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:                                       MetAlaProTrpProHisGluAsnSerSerLeuAlaProTrpProAsp                               151015                                                                         LeuProThrLeuAlaProAsnThrAlaAsnThrSerGlyLeuProGly                               202530                                                                         ValProTrpGluAlaAlaLeuAlaGlyAlaLeuLeuAlaLeuAlaVal                               354045                                                                         LeuAlaThrValGlyGlyAsnLeuLeuValIleValAlaIleAlaTrp                               505560                                                                         ThrProArgLeuGlnThrMetThrAsnValPheValThrSerLeuAla                               65707580                                                                       AlaAlaAspLeuValMetGlyLeuLeuValValProProAlaAlaThr                               859095                                                                         LeuAlaLeuThrGlyHisTrpProLeuGlyAlaThrGlyCysGluLeu                               100105110                                                                      TrpThrSerValAspValLeuCysValThrAlaSerIleGluThrLeu                               115120125                                                                      CysAlaLeuAlaValAspArgTyrLeuAlaValThrAsnProLeuArg                               130135140                                                                      TyrGlyAlaLeuValThrLysArgCysAlaArgThrAlaValValLeu                               145150155160                                                                   ValTrpValValSerAlaAlaValSerPheAlaProIleMetSerGln                               165170175                                                                      TrpTrpArgValGlyAlaAspAlaGluAlaGlnArgCysHisSerAsn                               180185190                                                                      ProArgCysCysAlaPheAlaSerAsnMetProTyrValLeuLeuSer                               195200205                                                                      SerSerValSerPheTyrLeuProLeuLeuValMetLeuPheValTyr                               210215220                                                                      AlaArgValPheValValAlaThrArgGlnLeuArgLeuLeuArgGly                               225230235240                                                                   GluLeuGlyArgPheProProGluGluSerProProAlaProSerArg                               245250255                                                                      SerLeuAlaProAlaProValGlyThrCysAlaProProGluGlyVal                               260265270                                                                      ProAlaCysGlyArgArgProAlaArgLeuLeuProLeuArgGluHis                               275280285                                                                      ArgAlaLeuCysThrLeuGlyLeuIleMetGlyThrPheThrLeuCys                               290295300                                                                      TrpLeuProPhePheLeuAlaAsnValLeuArgAlaLeuGlyGlyPro                               305310315320                                                                   SerLeuValProGlyProAlaPheLeuAlaLeuAsnTrpLeuGlyTyr                               325330335                                                                      AlaAsnSerAlaPheAsnProLeuIleTyrCysArgSerProAspPhe                               340345350                                                                      ArgSerAlaPheArgArgLeuLeuCysArgCysGlyArgArgLeuPro                               355360365                                                                      ProGluProCysAlaAlaAlaArgProAlaLeuPheProSerGlyVal                               370375380                                                                      ProAlaAlaArgSerSerProAlaGlnProArgLeuCysGlnArgLeu                               385390395400                                                                   AspGly                                                                         (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 477 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:                                       MetGlyAlaGlyValLeuValLeuGlyAlaSerGluProGlyAsnLeu                               151015                                                                         SerSerAlaAlaProLeuProAspGlyAlaAlaThrAlaAlaArgLeu                               202530                                                                         LeuValProAlaSerProProAlaSerLeuLeuProProAlaSerGlu                               354045                                                                         SerProGluProLeuSerGlnGlnTrpThrAlaGlyMetGlyLeuLeu                               505560                                                                         MetAlaLeuIleValLeuLeuIleValAlaGlyAsnValLeuValIle                               65707580                                                                       ValAlaIleAlaLysThrProArgLeuGlnThrLeuThrAsnLeuPhe                               859095                                                                         IleMetSerLeuAlaSerAlaAspLeuValMetGlyLeuLeuValVal                               100105110                                                                      ProPheGlyAlaThrIleValValTrpGlyArgTrpGluTyrGlySer                               115120125                                                                      PhePheCysGluLeuTrpThrSerValAspValLeuCysValThrAla                               130135140                                                                      SerIleGluThrLeuCysValIleAlaLeuAspArgTyrLeuAlaIle                               145150155160                                                                   ThrSerProPheArgTyrGlnSerLeuLeuThrArgAlaArgAlaArg                               165170175                                                                      GlyLeuValCysThrValTrpAlaIleSerAlaLeuValSerPheLeu                               180185190                                                                      ProIleLeuMetHisTrpTrpArgAlaGluSerAspGluAlaArgArg                               195200205                                                                      CysTyrAsnAspProLysCysCysAspPheValThrAsnArgAlaTyr                               210215220                                                                      AlaIleAlaSerSerValValSerPheTyrValProLeuCysIleMet                               225230235240                                                                   AlaPheValTyrLeuArgValPheArgGluAlaGlnLysGlnValLys                               245250255                                                                      LysIleAspSerCysGluArgArgPheLeuGlyGlyProAlaArgPro                               260265270                                                                      ProSerProSerProSerProValProAlaProAlaProProProGly                               275280285                                                                      ProProArgProAlaAlaAlaAlaAlaThrAlaProLeuAlaAsnGly                               290295300                                                                      ArgAlaGlyLysArgArgProSerArgLeuValAlaLeuArgGluGln                               305310315320                                                                   LysAlaLeuLysThrLeuGlyIleIleMetGlyValPheThrLeuCys                               325330335                                                                      TrpLeuProPhePheLeuAlaAsnValValLysAlaPheHisArgGlu                               340345350                                                                      LeuValProAspArgLeuPheValPhePheAsnTrpLeuGlyTyrAla                               355360365                                                                      AsnSerAlaPheAsnProIleIleTyrCysArgSerProAspPheArg                               370375380                                                                      LysAlaPheGlnGlyLeuLeuCysCysAlaArgArgAlaAlaArgArg                               385390395400                                                                   ArgHisAlaThrHisGlyAspArgProArgAlaSerGlyCysLeuAla                               405410415                                                                      ArgProGlyProProProSerProGlyAlaAlaSerAspAspAspAsp                               420425430                                                                      AspAspValValGlyAlaThrProProAlaArgLeuLeuGluProTrp                               435440445                                                                      AlaGlyCysAsnGlyGlyAlaAlaAlaAspSerAspSerSerLeuAsp                               450455460                                                                      GluProCysArgProGlyPheAlaSerGluSerLysVal                                        465470475                                                                      (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:                                              (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 413 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:                                       MetGlyGlnProGlyAsnGlySerAlaPheLeuLeuAlaProAsnGly                               151015                                                                         SerHisAlaProAspHisAspValThrGlnGlnArgAspGluValTrp                               202530                                                                         ValValLeuMetGlyIleValMetSerLeuIleValLeuAlaIleVal                               354045                                                                         PheGlyAsnValLeuValIleThrAlaIleAlaLysPheGluArgLeu                               505560                                                                         GlnThrValThrAsnTyrPheIleThrSerLeuAlaCysAlaAspLeu                               65707580                                                                       ValMetGlyLeuAlaValValProPheGlyAlaAlaHisIleLeuMet                               859095                                                                         LysMetTrpThrPheGlyAsnPheTrpCysGluPheTrpThrSerIle                               100105110                                                                      AspValLeuCysValThrAlaSerIleGluThrLeuCysValIleAla                               115120125                                                                      ValAspArgTyrPheAlaIleThrSerProPheLysTyrGlnSerLeu                               130135140                                                                      LeuThrArgAsnLysAlaArgValIleIleLeuMetValTrpIleVal                               145150155160                                                                   SerGlyLeuThrSerPheLeuProIleGlnMetHisTrpTyrArgAla                               165170175                                                                      ThrHisGlnGluAlaIleAsnCysTyrAlaAsnGluThrCysCysAsp                               180185190                                                                      PhePheThrAsnGlnAlaTyrAlaIleAlaSerSerIleValSerPhe                               195200205                                                                      TyrValProLeuValIleMetValPheValTyrSerArgValPheGln                               210215220                                                                      GluAlaLysArgGlnLeuGlnLysIleAspLysSerGluGlyArgPhe                               225230235240                                                                   HisValGlnAsnLeuSerGlnValGluGlnAspGlyArgThrGlyHis                               245250255                                                                      GlyLeuArgArgSerSerLysPheCysLeuLysGluHisLysAlaLeu                               260265270                                                                      LysThrLeuGlyIleIleMetGlyThrPheThrLeuCysTrpLeuPro                               275280285                                                                      PhePheIleValAsnIleValHisValIleGlnAspAsnLeuIleArg                               290295300                                                                      LysGluValTyrIleLeuLeuAsnTrpIleGlyTyrValAsnSerGly                               305310315320                                                                   PheAsnProLeuIleTyrCysArgSerProAspPheArgIleAlaPhe                               325330335                                                                      GlnGluLeuLeuCysLeuArgArgSerSerLeuLysAlaTyrGlyAsn                               340345350                                                                      GlyTyrSerSerAsnGlyAsnThrGlyGluGlnSerGlyTyrHisVal                               355360365                                                                      GluGlnGluLysGluAsnLysLeuLeuCysGluAspLeuProGlyThr                               370375380                                                                      GluAspPheValGlyHisGlnGlyThrValProSerAspAsnIleAsp                               385390395400                                                                   SerGlnGlyArgAsnCysSerThrAsnAspSerLeuLeu                                        405410                                                                         __________________________________________________________________________ 

We claim:
 1. An isolated DNA molecule consisting of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 and encoding the murine β3-adrenergic receptor protein.
 2. An isolated DNA molecule consisting of SEQ ID NO:1 and comprising the following unique restriction sites: AlwN I, Sac I, Stu I, Dra I, Mse I, Bbe I, Nar I, Xcm I, NCo I, BspM I, Afl III, Pvu I, Nhe I, BstE II, BspH I, Bsm I, NSp7524 I, NSpH I, Xho I, Sac II, Eag I, Nae I, PaeR7 I, EcoN I, Fsp I, Bbv II, Nru I, Drd I, BamH I.
 3. An isolated DNA molecule consisting of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:3.
 4. An isolated DNA molecule consisting of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:4.
 5. An isolated DNA molecule consisting of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:6.
 6. An isolated DNA molecule consisting of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:7.
 7. An isolated nucleotide probe selected from the group of nucleotide probes consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:6 and SEQ ID NO:7.
 8. An isolated and purified polypeptide having a β3-adrenergic receptor activity and having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.
 9. A fragment of a polypeptide having SEQ ID NO:2, said fragment comprising at least 99 contiguous amino acids of SEQ ID NO:2.
 10. An isolated and purified polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:9.
 11. An expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 12. A host cell transformed by an expression vector according to claim
 11. 13. A transformed host cell according to claim 12, wherein said host cell is a CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cell.
 14. A recombinant vector comprising a replication origin selected from the group consisting of bacterial and eukaryotic replication origins; a nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker; a promoter selected from the group consisting of bacterial and eukaryotic promoters; and a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 15. A recombinant vector comprising, in the 5' to 3' direction, an appropriate replication origin, a gene for resistance to ampicillin, the viral promoter SV40, a nucleotide sequence having the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, a polyadenylation site derived from the hepatitis B virus (HBSAG) and the gene which encodes dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), wherein expression of dihydrofolate reductase permits survival of cells in a medium lacking glycine, hypoxanthine and thymidine.
 16. The vector deposited as I-1026 with the Collection Nationale de Cultures de Microorganisms, Institut Pasteur.
 17. A method of assaying a substance for agonist activity towards a polypeptide having a β3-adrenergic receptor activity, which method comprises:placing the substance in contact with a transformed host cell expressing murine β3 adrenergic receptor polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4, under conditions which permit binding between β3 adrenergic receptor protein binding sites and an agonist thereto; and measuring the quantity of cAMP produced, wherein accumulation of cAMP indicates formation of agonist-polypeptide complexes and indicates said substance is an agonist for murine β3 adrenergic receptor polypeptide.
 18. A process for studying the binding affinity of a compound for a polypeptide having a β3-adrenergic receptor activity, which process comprises:transforming a host cell by an expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1; culturing said transformed host cell under conditions which permit the expression of the β3-adrenergic receptor protein encoded by said nucleotide sequence, and the transfer of the expressed β3-adrenergic receptor protein to the membrane of the said transformed host cell so that transmembrane sequences of the β3 receptor-adrenergic protein are embedded in the cell membranes of the transformed host cell; placing said transformed host cell in contact with said compound; and measuring the quantity of said compound bound to said β3-adrenergic receptor protein.
 19. A kit for assaying the binding affinity of a compound for a polypeptide having murine β3-adrenergic receptor activity and encoded by SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4, which kit comprises:a culture of host cells transformed by an expression vector according to claim 16; and a control ligand having a determined binding affinity for said peptide.
 20. An isolated nucleotide probe consisting of a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:6 and SEQ ID NO:7 said probe hybridizing to DNA of SEQ ID NO:1 but not to genes encoding β1- and β2-adrenergic receptor proteins or to messenger RNA encoding said β1- and β2-adrenergic receptor proteins, under hybridization conditions of 750 mM of NaCL, 75 mM of trisodium citrate, 50 μg/ml of salmon sperm DNA, 50 mM of sodium phosphate, 1 mM of sodium pyrophosphate, 100 μM of ATP, 10% to 25% formamide, 1% Ficoll, 1% polyvinylpyrrolidione, 1% bovine serum albumin, for 14 to 16 hours at 42° C.
 21. An isolated nucleotide probe consisting of more than 100 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:1.
 22. A polypeptide having SEQ ID NO:2, wherein BRL 37344 stimulates adenylate cyclase and cAMP accumulation at least 10 times more than that stimulated by (1)-isoproterenol in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells transfected with said polypeptide under conditions wherein said cells are incubated for 20 minutes in a Hank's medium containing 20 mM HEPES buffered at pH 7.4, 1 mM of ascorbic acid, 1 mM isobutylmethylxanthine, and with concentrations of BRL 37344 higher than 10⁻¹² M. 